The Bills may have a first-year player at quarterback, but they sure have plenty of experience behind him.

Kelly Holcomb, 31, and Shane Matthews, who turns 35 in June, will back up 24-year-old J.P. Losman this fall.

Holcomb, a free agent from Cleveland, started 14 games over the past three years for the Browns. Matthews has 22 starts over his 12-year career and will be the Bills' No. 3 man. That's plenty of insurance should Losman struggle or be injured.

Coaxing Matthews back is a coup for the Bills.

He came out of retirement last August after an injury to Travis Brown and spent a good chunk of this offseason pondering his next move. Buffalo wanted him back in a big way since he knows the offense and has a relationship with Losman. He also proved effective off the bench in a preseason game at Detroit and in wins over Arizona and San Francisco during the regular season.

FRANCHISE PLAYER
None.

TRANSITION PLAYER
None.

UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS
LS Bradford Banta; WR Drew Haddad; OT Marcus Price; OL Mike Pucillo (not tendered as RFA); FS Izell Reese.

RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS
None.

EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS FREE AGENTS
None.

PLAYERS RE-SIGNED: RB Dante Brown; RB Joe Burns; LS Jon Dorenbos; QB Shane Matthews; TE Ryan Neufeld; LB Josh Stamer; CB Kevin Thomas.

PLAYERS ACQUIRED
OG Bennie Anderson; OG Mike Gandy; QB Kelly Holcomb.

PLAYERS LOST
QB Drew Bledsoe; OT Jonas Jennings; S Pierson Prioleau; DT Pat Williams.

Copyright (C) 2005 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.